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Sign the Petition/Voter Pledge – No Abusive Formula 1 Subsidies!

Linda Curtis — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:36:53 +0000

Sign the Petition/Voter Pledge to Abusive F1 Subsidies!

The Austin City Council vote on the F1 subsidy was postponed to next Wednesday! Even if the Austin City Council manages to keep city money out of the deal (we doubt it), their vote will still trigger STATE tax dollars — at least $250 million. Please call the Council at 974-2000 on Monday or Tuesday and simply ask them to vote NO on F1. Or you can email them all here: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/groupemail.htm. And, don’t forget to ask friends and family to do the same. Thank you Austin!

PS You might watch this video to learn how the Comptroller cooked the books on F1.

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Whereas, Austin residents continue to face rising property taxes, utility rate hikes and job cuts, despite community opposition to city spending on costly, unnecessary projects and abusive taxpayer giveaways, such as the $250+ million taxpayer subsidy for Formula 1 racing owned by billionaires,

Therefore, I hereby pledge to vote to replace any Austin City Council member in the next election who votes to enable the expenditure of Austin or Texas taxpayer dollars on Formula 1 racing.

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6 Dynamite Candidate Questions

Linda Curtis — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 01:30:49 +0000

Thank you for your tremendous and thoughtful responses to our request for your questions to the Austin City Council candidates. We have sifted them down to 6 dynamite Questions for Austin Candidates 2011. Question #1 will tell you where all the money for schools and basic city services went and continues to go so far!

Candidate’s responses come next Tuesday. Then we’ll ask you to forward a message across the city.

We have posted a sampling of the remainder of your 2011 City Council Candidate Questions. Sorry we couldn’t include them all! The Austin Neighborhoods’ questionnaire answered many of these questions. Click here…and here.

Get out to the Candidate forums, y’all. Keep checking this site for upcoming forums: http://councilforums.wordpress.com/. (Thanks to Robert Singleton for doing this site.)

Formula 1 for a Real Tea Party

Linda Curtis — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 00:40:28 +0000

Richard Viktorin of Audits in the Public Interest, is a CPA with credentials in the area of economic development. Viktorin testified before the Texas Senate Finance Committee late yesterday, providing data and back up to the contention that the State Comptroller’s support for granting one-quarter of a billion taxpayer dollars for the Formula 1 racetrack in Austin is a “a liar’s loan in the form of an economic development incentive merely by inflating attendance and spending.” Viktorin further testified that, “The total expenditure per person in all categories is a pie in the sky $585.00 per day, $3000 per visitor total…this does not include air travel. The higher and higher Formula One puffs the numbers, the higher the award grows. It is a direct algebraic relationship.”

Texas Senate Finance Committee Vice-Chair, Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa of McAllen responded to Viktorin stating, “I don’t like Formula One either.” Finance Committee Chair, Steve Ogden of Bryan, after gaveling out said, “We are going to look at it.”

According to information published by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Formula One incentive offered from the Texas Major Events Trust Fund is estimated to be $290,000,000 over ten years.

Viktorin’s organization was retained by local Austin businessman, taxpayer watchdog, and co-founder of ChangeAustin.org, Brian Rodgers. Rodgers said, “Spending $290 million of taxpayer funds for a privately owned racetrack while closing our schools is madness. It is deeply disturbing to watch our government officials pass up innovative solutions for long term unemployment in favor of a 3-day gig selling hot-dogs at a racetrack at obscene costs.”

Viktorin’s full 5-minute testimony can be watched here.